Patent application title: PAPER FEEDING MODULE AND SCANNING DEVICE USING THE SAME

Abstract:

A paper feeding module including a first shaft, a first ring-shape
structure, a paper picking roller and a paper feeding roller is provided.
The first shaft has a first stopping block. The first ring-shape
structure rotatably covers the first shaft and has a second stopping
block and a third stopping block, wherein the first shaft drives the
first ring-shape structure to rotate while the second stopping block is
pushed by the first stopping block. The paper picking roller rotatably
covers the first shaft and is located on the paper feeding path, and has
a fourth stopping block, wherein the first ring-shape structure drives
the paper picking roller to rotate while the fourth stopping block is
pushed by the third stopping block. The paper feeding roller is disposed
on the paper feeding path.

Claims:

1. A paper feeding module, adapted to a scanning device, wherein the
scanning device has a paper feeding path, the paper feeding module
comprising:a first shaft, having a first stopping block;a first
ring-shape structure, rotatably covering the first shaft and having a
second stopping block and a third stopping block, wherein the first shaft
drives the first ring-shape structure to rotate while the second stopping
block is pushed by the first stopping block;a paper picking roller,
rotatably covering the first shaft, being located on the paper feeding
path, and having a fourth stopping block, wherein the first ring-shape
structure drives the paper picking roller to rotate while the fourth
stopping block is pushed by the third stopping block; anda paper feeding
roller, disposed on the paper feeding path.

2. The paper feeding module as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first
ring-shape structure comprising:a first lantern ring, rotatably covering
the first shaft and having the second stopping block and a fifth stopping
block; anda second lantern ring, rotatably covering the first shaft and
having the third stopping block and a sixth stopping block, wherein the
first lantern ring drives the second lantern ring to rotate while the
sixth stopping block is pushed by the fifth stopping block.

3. The paper feeding module as claimed in claim 1, further comprising:a
second shaft, having a seventh stopping block;a second ring-shape
structure, rotatably covering the second shaft and having an eighth
stopping block and a ninth stopping block, wherein the second shaft
drives the second ring-shape structure to rotate while the eighth
stopping block is pushed by the seventh stopping block; anda paper
separating roller, disposed on the paper feeding path, located between
the paper picking roller and the paper feeding roller, and rotatably
covering the second shaft, wherein the paper separating roller has a
tenth stopping block, and the second ring-shape structure drives the
paper separating roller to rotate while the tenth stopping block is
pushed by the ninth stopping block.

4. The paper feeding module as claimed in claim 3, wherein the second
ring-shape structure comprises:a third lantern ring, rotatably covering
the second shaft and having the eighth stopping block and an eleventh
stopping block; anda fourth lantern ring, rotatably covering the second
shaft and having the ninth stopping block and a twelfth stopping block,
wherein the third lantern ring drives the fourth lantern ring to rotate
while the twelfth stopping block is pushed by the eleventh stopping
block.

5. The paper feeding module as claimed in claim 3, further comprising:a
first gear, fixed to the first shaft;a second gear, fixed to the second
shaft; anda gear set, coupled between the first gear and the second gear.

6. A scanning device, comprising:a main body, having a paper feeding
path;a paper feeding module, disposed in the main body and comprising:a
first shaft, having a first stopping block;a first ring-shape structure,
rotatably covering the first shaft and having a second stopping block and
a third stopping block, wherein the first shaft drives the first
ring-shape structure to rotate while the second stopping block is pushed
by the first stopping block;a paper picking roller, rotatably covering
the first shaft, located on the paper feeding path, and having a fourth
stopping block, wherein the first ring-shape structure drives the paper
picking roller to rotate while the fourth stopping block is pushed by the
third stopping block;a paper feeding roller, disposed on the paper
feeding path; anda scanning platform, disposed on the paper feeding path,
wherein the paper feeding roller is located between the paper picking
roller and the scanning platform.

7. The scanning device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the first ring-shape
structure comprising:a first lantern ring, rotatably covering the first
shaft and having the second stopping block and a fifth stopping block;
anda second lantern ring, rotatably covering the first shaft and having
the third stopping block and a sixth stopping block, wherein the first
lantern ring drives the second lantern ring to rotate while the sixth
stopping block is pushed by the fifth stopping block.

8. The scanning device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the paper feeding
module further comprises:a second shaft, having a seventh stopping
block;a second ring-shape structure, rotatably covering the second shaft
and having an eighth stopping block and a ninth stopping block, wherein
the second shaft drives the second ring-shape structure to rotate while
the eighth stopping block is pushed by the seventh stopping block; anda
paper separating roller, disposed on the paper feeding path, located
between the paper picking roller and the paper feeding roller, and
rotatably covering the second shaft, wherein the paper separating roller
has a tenth stopping block, and the second ring-shape structure drives
the paper separating roller to rotate while the tenth stopping block is
pushed by the ninth stopping block.

9. The scanning device as claimed in claim 8, wherein the second
ring-shape structure comprises:a third lantern ring, rotatably covering
the second shaft and having the eighth stopping block and an eleventh
stopping block; anda fourth lantern ring, rotatably covering the second
shaft and having the ninth stopping block and a twelfth stopping block,
wherein the third lantern ring drives the fourth lantern ring to rotate
while the twelfth stopping block is pushed by the eleventh stopping
block.

10. The scanning device as claimed in claim 8, wherein the paper feeding
module further comprises:a first gear, fixed to the first shaft;a second
gear, fixed to the second shaft; anda gear set, coupled between the first
gear and the second gear.

Description:

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

[0001]This application claims the priority benefit of Taiwan application
serial no. 98125091, filed on Jul. 24, 2009. The entirety of the
above-mentioned patent application is hereby incorporated by reference
herein and made a part of this specification.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0002]1. Field of the Invention

[0003]The present invention relates to a paper feeding module and a
scanning device using the same. More particularly, the present invention
relates to a paper feeding module having rollers, and a scanning device
using the same.

[0004]2. Description of Related Art

[0005]Recently, with a booming development of computer technology, and as
price of a scanning device goes down due to a strong market competition,
the scanning device becomes a popular computer peripheral in the market.

[0006]The scanning devices can be grouped into different types according
to prices or functions thereof. In detail, the scanning devices are
grouped into a handheld scanning device, a paper feeding scanning device,
a business card scanning device, a film scanning device, and a platform
scanning device, etc. Regarding the paper feeding scanning device, it has
a paper picking roller and a paper feeding roller, wherein papers can be
sequentially driven by the paper picking roller and the paper feeding
roller to move forward to a scanning platform for scanning. However,
since a rotating speed of the paper feeding roller is generally faster
than that of the paper picking roller, the paper is pulled by the paper
feeding roller and the paper picking roller, so that at a moment when the
paper is divorced from the paper picking roller, a moving speed thereof
is unstable, and accordingly a scanning quality is influenced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007]The present invention is directed to a paper feeding module, which
can improve scanning quality of a scanning device.

[0008]The present invention is directed to a scanning device, which has a
better scanning quality.

[0009]The present invention provides a paper feeding module adapted to a
scanning device, wherein the scanning device has a paper feeding path.
The paper feeding module includes a first shaft, a first ring-shape
structure, a paper picking roller and a paper feeding roller. The first
shaft has a first stopping block. The first ring-shape structure
rotatably covers the first shaft and has a second stopping block and a
third stopping block, wherein the first shaft drives the first ring-shape
structure to rotate while the second stopping block is pushed by the
first stopping block. The paper picking roller rotatably covers the first
shaft and is located on the paper feeding path, and has a fourth stopping
block, wherein the first ring-shape structure drives the paper picking
roller to rotate while the fourth stopping block is pushed by the third
stopping block. The paper feeding roller is disposed on the paper feeding
path.

[0010]The present invention provides a scanning device including a main
body, a paper feeding module and a scanning platform. The main body has a
paper feeding path. The paper feeding module is disposed in the main body
and includes a first shaft, a first ring-shape structure, a paper picking
roller and a paper feeding roller. The first shaft has a first stopping
block. The first ring-shape structure rotatably covers the first shaft
and has a second stopping block and a third stopping block, wherein the
first shaft drives the first ring-shape structure to rotate while the
second stopping block is pushed by the first stopping block. The paper
picking roller rotatably covers the first shaft and is located on the
paper feeding path, and has a fourth stopping block, wherein the first
ring-shape structure drives the paper picking roller to rotate while the
fourth stopping block is pushed by the third stopping block. The paper
feeding roller is disposed on the paper feeding path. The scanning
platform is disposed on the paper feeding path, wherein the paper feeding
roller is located between the paper picking roller and the scanning
platform.

[0011]In an embodiment of the present invention, the first ring-shape
structure includes a first lantern ring and a second lantern ring. The
first lantern ring rotatably covers the first shaft and has the second
stopping block and a fifth stopping block. The second lantern ring
rotatably covers the first shaft and has the third stopping block and a
sixth stopping block, wherein the first lantern ring drives the second
lantern ring to rotate while the sixth stopping block is pushed by the
fifth stopping block.

[0012]In an embodiment of the present invention, the paper feeding module
further includes a second shaft, a second ring-shape structure and a
paper separating roller. The second shaft has a seventh stopping block.
The second ring-shape structure rotatably covers the second shaft and has
an eighth stopping block and a ninth stopping block, wherein the second
shaft drives the second ring-shape structure to rotate while the eighth
stopping block is pushed by the seventh stopping block. The paper
separating roller is disposed on the paper feeding path and is located
between the paper picking roller and the paper feeding roller, and
rotatably covers the second shaft, wherein the paper separating roller
has a tenth stopping block, and the second ring-shape structure drives
the paper separating roller to rotate while the tenth stopping block is
pushed by the ninth stopping block.

[0013]In an embodiment of the present invention, the second ring-shape
structure includes a third lantern ring and a fourth lantern ring. The
third lantern ring rotatably covers the second shaft and has the eighth
stopping block and an eleventh stopping block. The fourth lantern ring
rotatably covers the second shaft and has the ninth stopping block and a
twelfth stopping block, wherein the third lantern ring drives the fourth
lantern ring to rotate while the twelfth stopping block is pushed by the
eleventh stopping block.

[0014]In an embodiment of the present invention, the paper feeding module
further includes a first gear, a second gear and a gear set. The first
gear is fixed to the first shaft. The second gear is fixed to the second
shaft. The gear set is coupled between the first gear and the second
gear.

[0015]In the present invention, the first shaft can drive a paper to move
towards the paper feeding roller while the first ring-shape structure
drives the paper picking roller to rotate. When the paper simultaneously
contacts the paper picking roller and the paper feeding roller, the paper
feeding roller with a relatively high rotating speed (compared to that of
the first shaft) can dive the fourth stopping block of the paper picking
roller to divorce from the third stopping block of the first ring-shape
structure through the paper, so that the paper picking roller and the
paper feeding roller may have a same tangential speed. Therefore, a
problem that the paper is pulled by the paper picking roller and the
paper feeding roller due to different tangential speeds of the paper
picking roller and the paper feeding roller can be avoided, so that a
moving speed of the paper is stable, and accordingly the scanning quality
is improved.

[0016]In order to make the aforementioned and other features and
advantages of the present invention comprehensible, several exemplary
embodiments accompanied with figures are described in detail below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017]The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further
understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a
part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the
invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the
principles of the invention.

[0018]FIG. 1 is a partial structural side view of a scanning device
according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0019]FIG. 2 is a partial three-dimensional view of the paper feeding
module of FIG. 1.

[0020]FIGS. 3A-3C are diagrams illustrating an operation flow of the
scanning device of FIG. 1.

[0022]FIG. 5 is a partial three-dimensional view of the paper feeding
module of FIG. 1.

[0023]FIG. 6 is a partial three-dimensional view of the paper feeding
module of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0024]Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred
embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the
accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are
used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like
parts.

[0025]FIG. 1 is a partial structural side view of a scanning device
according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a partial
three-dimensional view of the paper feeding module of FIG. 1. Referring
to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the scanning device 100 of the present invention
includes a main body 110, a paper feeding module 120 and a scanning
platform 130. The main body 110 has a paper feeding path 112. The paper
feeding module 120 is disposed in the main body 110 and includes a first
shaft 122, a first ring-shape structure 124, a paper picking roller 126
and a paper feeding roller 128.

[0026]The first shaft 122 has a first stopping block 122a. The first
ring-shape structure 124 rotatably covers the first shaft 122 and has a
second stopping block 124a and a third stopping block 124b, wherein the
first shaft 122 drives the first ring-shape structure 124 to rotate while
the second stopping block 124a is pushed by the first stopping block
122a. The paper picking roller 126 rotatably covers the first shaft 122
and is located on the paper feeding path 112, and has a fourth stopping
block 126a, wherein the first ring-shape structure 124 drives the paper
picking roller 126 to rotate while the fourth stopping block 126a is
pushed by the third stopping block 124b.

[0027]The paper feeding roller 128 is disposed on the paper feeding path
112. The scanning platform 130 is disposed on the paper feeding path 112,
wherein the paper feeding roller 128 is located between the paper picking
roller 126 and the scanning platform 130. FIGS. 3A-3C are diagrams
illustrating an operation flow of the scanning device of FIG. 1.
Referring to FIG. 3A, when the scanning device 100 scans a paper 50, the
paper picking roller 126 first drives the paper 50 to move along the
paper feeding path 112. Referring to FIG. 3B, after the paper 50 is moved
to the paper feeding roller 128 along the paper feeding path 112, the
paper 50 is driven by the paper feeding roller 128 to move towards the
scanning platform 130. Referring to FIG. 3C, after the paper 50 is
divorced from the paper picking roller 126, the paper 50 is continually
driven by the paper feeding roller 128 to complete follow-up scanning
tasks.

[0028]It should be noticed that when the scanning device 100 drives the
paper 50 to simultaneously contact the paper feeding roller 128 and the
paper picking roller 126 (shown in FIG. 3B), the paper feeding roller 128
with a relatively great tangential speed (compared to that of the paper
picking roller 126) can drive the fourth stopping block 126a of the paper
picking roller 126 to divorce from the third stopping block 124b of the
first ring-shape structure 124 through the paper 50, so that the paper
picking roller 126 and the paper feeding roller 128 may have a same
tangential speed, and accordingly a problem that the paper 50 is pulled
by the paper picking roller 126 and the paper feeding roller 128 due to
different tangential speeds of the paper picking roller 126 and the paper
feeding roller 128 can be avoided. Therefore, when the scanning device
100 drives the paper 50 to divorce from the paper picking roller 126
(shown in FIG. 3C), a moving speed of the paper 50 can be maintained
stable, and accordingly the scanning quality is improved.

[0029]Referring to FIG. 2, in detail, the first ring-shape structure 124
includes a first lantern ring 1242 and a second lantern ring 1244. The
first lantern ring 1242 rotatably covers the first shaft 122 and has the
second stopping block 124a and a fifth stopping block 124c. The second
lantern ring 1244 rotatably covers the first shaft 122 and has the third
stopping block 124b and a sixth stopping block 124d. The first lantern
ring 1242 drives the second lantern ring 1244 to rotate while the sixth
stopping block 124d is pushed by the fifth stopping block 124c. Details
are described with reference of FIG. 2 and FIGS. 4A-4D.

[0030]FIGS. 4A-4D are diagrams illustrating a partial operation flow of
the paper feeding module of FIG. 1. First, referring to FIG. 2, when the
first shaft 122 is rotated along a direction R, the first stopping block
122a pushes the second stopping block 124a, the fifth stopping block 124c
pushes the sixth stopping block 124d, and the third stopping block 124b
pushes the fourth stopping block 126a, so as to drive the paper picking
roller 126 to rotate. Referring to FIG. 4A, when the paper feeding roller
128 with the relatively great tangential speed (compared to that of the
paper picking roller 126) drives the paper picking roller 126 to rotate
along the direction R through the paper 50 (shown in FIGS. 3A-3C), the
fourth stopping block 126a can be divorced from the third stopping block
124b of the second lantern ring 1244, so that the paper picking roller
126 and the paper feeding roller 128 can be rotated with a same
tangential speed.

[0031]Next, referring to FIG. 4B, since the tangential speed of the paper
picking roller 126 is greater than a rotating speed of the first shaft
122 after the paper picking roller 126 is driven by the paper feeding
roller 128, the fourth stopping block 126a can reach a position shown in
FIG. 4B along with the rotation of the paper picking roller 126 to push
the third stopping block 124b, so that the sixth stopping block 124d is
driven to be divorced from the fifth stopping block 124c, and the paper
picking roller 126 and the second lantern ring 1244 are all rotated in a
same tangential speed as that of the paper feeding roller 128. Referring
to FIG. 4c, the sixth stopping block 124d can reach a position shown in
FIG. 4c along with the rotation of the second lantern ring 1244 to push
the fifth stopping block 124c, so that the second stopping block 124a is
driven to be divorced from the first stopping block 122a, and the paper
picking roller 126, the first lantern ring 1242 and the second lantern
ring 1244 are all rotated in a same tangential speed as that of the paper
feeding roller 128.

[0032]Referring to FIG. 4D, when the paper feeding roller 128 sequentially
drives the paper picking roller 126, the first lantern ring 1242 and the
second lantern ring 1244 to rotate relatively to the first shaft 122
through the paper 50 to reach a state as that shown in FIG. 4D, since the
second stopping block 124a again contacts the first stopping block 122a,
the paper picking roller 126 is limited to be rotated in a rotating speed
as that of the first shaft 122 along the direction R. Therefore, a
distance between the paper picking roller 126 and the paper feeding
roller 128 in the paper feeding module 120 can be determined according to
a length of the paper 50 (shown in FIGS. 3A-3C), so that the paper 50 can
be divorced from the paper picking roller 126 before the paper feeding
module 120 reach a state as that shown in FIG. 4D. After the paper 50 is
divorced from the paper picking roller 126, the paper picking roller 126,
the first lantern ring 1242 and the second lantern ring 1244 are no
longer driven by the paper feeding roller 128, so that the paper feeding
module 120 is recovered back to a state as that shown in FIG. 2 along
with the rotation of the first shaft 122 for continually feeding another
paper (not shown).

[0033]During the operation flow shown in FIGS. 4A-4C, the paper picking
roller 126, the first lantern ring 1242 and the second lantern ring 1244
are sequentially driven, so that the paper picking roller 126 can be
rotated relatively to the first shaft 122 in a same tangential speed as
that of the paper feeding roller 128, and a problem that the paper 50 is
pulled by the paper picking roller 126 and the paper feeding roller 128
due to different tangential speeds of the paper picking roller 126 and
the paper feeding roller 128 can be avoided. It should be noticed that
the longer duration for the operation flow shown in FIGS. 4A-4C being
maintained, the longer duration for the paper picking roller 126 and the
paper feeding roller 128 having the same tangential speed. To achieve
such an objective, the first ring-shape structure 124 of the present
embodiment is designed to be composed of the first lantern ring 1242 and
the second lantern ring 1244, so as to prolong a rotation time of the
paper picking roller 126 relative to the first shaft 122.

[0034]FIG. 5 is a partial three-dimensional view of the paper feeding
module of FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 5, in the present
embodiment, the paper feeding module 120 further includes a second shaft
121, a second ring-shape structure 123 and a paper separating roller 125.
The second shaft 121 has a seventh stopping block 121a. The second
ring-shape structure 123 rotatably covers the second shaft 121 and has an
eighth stopping block 123a and a ninth stopping block 123b. The second
shaft 121 drives the second ring-shape structure 123 to rotate while the
eighth stopping block 123a is pushed by the seventh stopping block 121a.
The paper separating roller 125 is disposed on the paper feeding path 112
and is located between the paper picking roller 126 and the paper feeding
roller 128, and rotatably covers the second shaft 121. The paper
separating roller 125 has a tenth stopping block 125a, and the second
ring-shape structure 123 drives the paper separating roller 125 to rotate
while the tenth stopping block 125a is pushed by the ninth stopping block
123b.

[0035]The paper separating roller 125 disposed on the paper feeding path
112 and located between the paper picking roller 126 and the paper
feeding roller 128 can separate the papers through friction, so as to
ensure the paper 50 fed to the paper feeding roller 128 is a single
paper. Moreover, the second ring-shape structure 123 includes a third
lantern ring 1232 and a fourth lantern ring 1234. The third lantern ring
1232 rotatably covers the second shaft 121 and has the eighth stopping
block 123a and an eleventh stopping block 123c. The fourth lantern ring
1234 rotatably covers the second shaft 121 and has the ninth stopping
block 123b and a twelfth stopping block 123d. The third lantern ring 1232
drives the fourth lantern ring 1234 to rotate while the twelfth stopping
block 123d is pushed by the eleventh stopping block 123c.

[0036]It should be noticed that an operation flow and functions (which are
referred to that the paper separating roller 125 can be driven by the
paper feeding roller 128 and rotated in the same tangential speed as that
of the paper feeding roller 128) of the second shaft 121, the second
ring-shape structure 123 (the third lantern ring 1232 and the fourth
lantern ring 1234) and the paper separating roller 125 are similar as
that of the first shaft 122, the first ring-shape structure 124 (the
first lantern ring 1242 and the second lantern ring 1244) and the paper
picking roller 126, and therefore detailed descriptions thereof are not
repeated.

[0037]FIG. 6 is a partial three-dimensional view of the paper feeding
module of FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 6, in the present embodiment, the
paper feeding module 120 further includes a first gear 127, a second gear
129 and a gear set G. The first gear 127 is fixed to the first shaft 122.
The second gear 129 is fixed to the second shaft 121. The gear set G is
coupled between the first gear 127 and the second gear 129, so that the
first shaft 122 and the second shaft 121 can be mutually driven. For
example, the first shaft 122 can be coupled to a driving motor (not
shown), and the first shaft 122 driven by the driving motor can drive the
second shaft 121 to rotate through the first gear 127, the gear set G and
the second gear 129. In other words, according to a configuration of the
first gear 127, the gear set G and the second gear 129, the driving motor
can be commonly used by the paper separating roller 125 and the paper
picking roller 126, so as to save a fabrication cost.

[0038]In summary, the first shaft can drive a paper to move towards the
paper feeding roller while the first ring-shape structure drives the
paper picking roller to rotate. When the paper simultaneously contacts
the paper picking roller and the paper feeding roller, the paper feeding
roller with a relatively high rotating speed (compared to that of the
first shaft) can dive the fourth stopping block of the paper picking
roller to divorce from the third stopping block of the first ring-shape
structure through the paper, so that the paper picking roller and the
paper feeding roller may have a same tangential speed. Therefore, a
problem that the paper is pulled by the paper picking roller and the
paper feeding roller due to different tangential speeds of the paper
picking roller and the paper feeding roller can be avoided, so that a
moving speed of the paper is stable, and accordingly the scanning quality
is improved. Moreover, the first ring-shape structure can be designed to
be composed of the first lantern ring and the second lantern ring, so as
to prolong a rotation time of the paper picking roller relative to the
first shaft, so that the duration for the paper picking roller and the
paper feeding roller having the same tangential speed is prolonged.

[0039]It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various
modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present
invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In
view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention cover
modifications and variations of this invention provided they fall within
the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.